Frozen
by specialred
Summary: A Robin and Beast Boy friendship fic, 'cause there's not enough out there. Includes Robin's thoughts during Titans Together, and his attempt to smooth things over with Beast Boy. Rated for several words. First fic, so please drop a review! Constructive criticism welcomed.
1. Chapter 1

The world was cold.

The darkness shrouding his eyes reluctantly cleared away as he came to, and discovered himself in an unfamiliar situation. Heart thumping, his instincts kicked in as he began to assess the scenario. Before his eyes was a warped layer of… glass? No, it was ice. Hence the bitter cold. With a start, he realized that he was unable to move any of his limbs. He was completely incapacitated. Vulnerable.

_Think, Robin. Think! _Suddenly, recent events flooded his mind. He was frozen by the Brotherhood of Evil. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was a shout… what could have happened? Emerging from his thoughts, Robin suddenly noticed the scenario unfolding on the floor before him. And his heart sank in his chest.

Beast Boy. Of all the people... of all the _heroes _Robin could've chosen to save the day, Beast Boy would probably have been his last. Sure, he meant well, but he could be horribly clueless at times… Robin suddenly felt struck with guilt. Beast Boy was his _friend_. He should be more supportive of him. After all, the changeling had his moments. Maybe, Robin prayed, maybe this would be one of them?

With growing dread, Robin noted the rag-tag team assembled behind his small green teammate. Was that all that remained of the once great titanic empire? Robin wished he could be down there. It was, after all, his fault that everything had fallen apart. And now, this small remnant of heroes bore an entire generation on their shoulders. The laughter of the villains echoed around the chamber, twistedly reflecting Robins own sentiments on the irony of the situation.

Then, before Robin's eyes, a spark of hope flared. They began _fighting-_ and fighting well. With a mounting sense of joy, he observed villain after villain being struck down by the young heroes. The tide was turning in their favor. Robin's heart swelled with pride as he observed his green teammate. How far he had come, from the immature rookie to an impromptu leader. Then, a sudden realization struck him- Beast Boy hadn't really changed that much. This side of him had been there the whole time. Robin just hadn't taken the time to peel back the layers and really understand his friend. Actually, ever since the beast incident, Robin hadn't really been acting like much of a friend to him… Beast Boy had always been unswervingly loyal to the cause and ready to sacrifice for any of his friends. It just took… all of _this_ for Robin to see it.

His gut filled with shame, Robin resolved to fix things with Beast Boy if he ever got of this bind. Speaking of which, the situation below had come to a head, and things looked bleak. Robin watched with mounting dread as Johnny Rancid placed his boot on Beast Boy's back, further humiliating the young changeling. The acrobat winced inwardly as the Brotherhood rubbed defeat in his face, enjoying every last second of this final victory. But then… the earth shook. And as one-by-one his friends busted in, Robin _knew_. He knew that they would win, that victory was inevitable, because _goddamnit_, they were the Teen Titans! And nothing, no brain in a jar, no talking monkey- excuse him, gorilla- was going to bring them down.

Then Mas y Menos flipped the switch. Warmth flooded his veins as Robin stretched his limbs and prepared to kick some serious ass. His vision focused on Beast Boy, Robin tracked his determined movements. Rising against all odds, Beast Boy had proven himself to be far more than the funny green prankster. He was a survivor, a leader, and… a Titan. Beast Boy had saved them all, and as Robin called to Starfire to help him down, he grinned. It was time to return the favor.


	2. Breaking the Ice

**A/N: Major thanks to all who read and reviewed the prequel to this fic! You guys are awesome, and though I hadn't planned on it, you inspired me to continue this. As before, constructive criticism is welcomed. Enjoy!**

Ever since Robin was a young boy, he had a high degree of pride. Not necessarily to the point of being narcissistic, but he maintained a certain amount of dignity and only humbled himself when it was imperative to a situation. This character trait was only amplified by the time he spent with the Dark Knight, and it played a large part in his hasty departure. Thus, it was with great difficulty and a trace of shame that he found himself standing at the edge of a great precipice- Beast Boy's door.

It had been weeks since the Brotherhood of Evil was frozen in their not-so-secret base. The Titans had expected their return home to be calm and smooth, with little to no trouble from the other side of the law. Yet, it had been anything but. Beast Boy claimed to have interacted with a Terra evidently risen from the dead, and as a consequence had abandoned the Titans in a time of need. After he had finally shown up and helped end the battle against the morphing creature, Robin had exploded at him. He had shouted himself hoarse about responsibility and maturity, coming down on Beast Boy harder than he ever had. In retrospect, he should've been gentler, seeing as the green shifter had just had his heart broken for a third time… but it was too late by the time Robin considered it. Questioning the changeling's dedication to the team and punishing him with suspension from missions until further notice, Robin had scared himself with how much he sounded like his former mentor.

But the thing Robin remembered most about the whole encounter wasn't his anger at his teammate, the silent ride home, or even the awkward arrival at the tower where nobody- not even Starfire- had said a single word to him. No, the thing Robin recalled with the most clarity was the expression on Beast Boy's face as Robin unleashed his pent-up frustrations on the already depressed boy. It wasn't remorse, or even anger, though he had every right to be. The emotions gracing Beast Boy's features were those of silent resignation, as well as… disappointment. And it had struck Robin's core.

Now it was the day after. Recalling the promise he had made to himself to smooth things over with Beast Boy, Robin swallowed his pride and knocked.

"Come in," a hoarse voice answered. Robin silently stepped into the dark room, and flipped the switch next to the door. Then promptly fought the urge to gasp. It was… clean. There were trash bags sitting by the door waiting to be disposed of, and a stack of comic books resided next to the neatly made bunk-bed. Cautiously making his way to the source of the voice, Robin felt the guilt in the pit of his stomach grow heavier. This kind of drastic action could only have been brought about by extreme emotional distress… and he had been the cause.

"It's me, Robin... I…uh... I wanted to talk to you." Robin silently cursed his poor social skills. Stupid Batman and his stupid reclusive ways… Robin would know how to talk to people if the_ Flash_ had been his mentor, but no, he had gotten the dark, depressing, overgrown bat that lived in a cave. His thoughts were interrupted by an impatient grunt from the top bunk. Clearing his throat, Robin attempted to express his feelings to the changeling.

"Well, ah… what I wanted to talk to you about was… your training." No! Stop, stop, stop… "I think we need to up it, your reaction time could use some improvement." God, he was a _moron_. Why couldn't he just say what he wanted? It's not that hard, it's not that ha- screw it, it was hard. How he wished he were Starfire right now. She had no trouble talking to people about her feelings. Oh, no, here comes more verbal diarrhea- "If you want to keep up with the rest of the team, you'll need to start working harder."

…That was it. _Now_ he had done it. If Beast Boy hadn't been mad at him before, he surely was now. Talking about upping his training was one thing, but insinuating that he was weaker than the others? That was something else entirely. Robin listened as the heavy silence from the top bunk was interrupted by a soft rustling. Despite his churning insides, Robin kept his face impassive and stoic as he steeled his nerves for the approaching confrontation. A green fly buzzed before him, and swiftly morphed into a righteously angry green shape shifter.

"Keep up? _Keep up_? When have I ever _not_ kept up? Maybe if you pulled your head out of your ass every once in a while, boy blunder, you'd notice that I do _more_ than keep up. I've _always_ been right there with the team, and I've _always_ picked up my slack. So don't go lecturing me about being lazy, or being weaker than anybody else. You don't even KNOW what I've been through in my life! You don't know about the battles I have to fight _every day of my life, _how _hard _I have to work, the control I have to maintain, just to keep the animals, the _beasts_ inside me contained! " At this, Robin allowed his impassive mask to fall. He stepped forward and attempted to rest his hand on his young teammate's shoulder.

"Beast Boy… I never knew… I-" The heavily breathing green teen roughly shrugged off the offered hand.

"No. You aren't my friend, Robin. You don't get to console me. Don't try to apologize. The whole time we've known each other, I've never been good enough to earn your respect… or your trust. You… you used to be my idol. Growing up with the Doom Patrol, I always looked to you to inspire me, to be an example of what I could be if I tried hard enough. But now that I've met you… I know what you really are. You're a selfish, cold, jerk, who never cares about anybody but himself." Beast Boy turned his head to the side, and scrunched up his face to keep the tears from falling. He couldn't let himself appear weak in front of Robin.

The silence in the room was so thick it was practically tangible. The two boys stood facing each other, each battling with themselves to open their mouth and just apologize. The animals in Beast Boy screamed for him to fly, to go away from the stress and pain. But he didn't dare move a muscle for fear that his tears would find a way out, so he stood awkwardly, waiting for Robin to blow up and leave.

Meanwhile, Robin was shell-shocked. How long had this been brewing in Beast Boy's heart? As he struggled to come to terms with the resentment Beast Boy harbored towards him, he realized that all of the other boy's words were completely true. At least, he had given him no reason to believe otherwise. But that was about to change. Robin mustered up his confidence, and spoke in a voice he hoped conveyed the regret he had come to know so well.

"You're right." At this, Beast Boy allowed himself to look up. Though the tears on the changeling's cheeks twanged at his heartstrings, Robin focused on the vaguely hopeful expression on the younger boy's face and plowed ahead.

"I have been a jerk. And I'm sorry. You've proven yourself to me… to the team… over and over again. You're a good fighter Beast Boy, you really are, and you deserve to be treated better than this. It's just that I'm… well… I'm jealous of you." Robin paused for a moment before he resumed. "You're always so… happy. You lighten up the team, you joke around… and where I was raised, that wasn't allowed. There was no room for jokes, or time for relaxing, just work. I learned to distrust that happiness, and push others away. And now… I've pushed you away. And for that, I'm sorry."

Robin squared his shoulders and spun on his heels. He had caused Beast Boy enough pain. Some walls just couldn't be torn down, and Robin sadly acknowledged that the one between him and Beast Boy was such. But as he strode from the room and into the hall, a firm touch stopped him. Robin halted, and noted the silver-gloved hand on his shoulder. From behind him, a raspy voice rang through the air.

"Hey… if you weren't such a stick in the mud, who would be?" Hearing the humor infused in the young changeling's voice, Robin allowed a small grin to grace his features. Beast Boy continued, "Besides… you're not _always_ a jerk." A small chuckle emanated from the raven-haired teen, causing a wide-eyed Beast Boy to pop up in front of him.

"Did you just… laugh?" Robin grinned and shrugged. "Hey, I can't always be a hard-ass. It's tougher than it looks, you know." Beast Boy allowed himself a chuckle of his own. They stood in companionable silence until Robin broke it.

"Beast Boy?"

"Yeah?"

"Um… thanks."

Beast Boy grinned and punched Robin lightly on the shoulder. "Hey… what are friends for?"


End file.
